Septime La Cave

Paris: Septime La Cave

Every day before dinner, between 6-8pm, a young new generation of Parisians dressed in jeans and sneakers gather for a laid-back “apero” at Septime’s natural wine shop called a “cave a manger” (a wine SHOP where you can legally open bottles and drink on-site because they have snacks). This time of day is never, ever missed as a way to unwind from the day by socializing over shared bottles of wine & a few bar snacks. Doubling as a buzzy social club, this caves a manger is incredibly popular with a cult-status following.

Since the vibe is cool + hip, and the customers made up of everyone from local food + wine industry from around the world – the fun is that we never know who we’ll run into or how long we’ll be there.

Here at Septime’s wine shop across the street from their Michelin-star restaurant – there are no reservations and let me tell you, it is so packed that sometimes there isn’t enough room inside, so the party spills out onto the street. We walk in, order bottles, and either stand up for hours or sit on old wine crates to catch up, share small charcuterie + cheese plates, and drink through the impressive selection of all-natural wines.

What To Know Before You Go:

This is NOT a replacement for dinner. It’s simply a casual place to socialize while sharing bottles of wine before + after dinner. You only pay a small corkage fee of 7€ for the right to open them.

Like what you are drinking? You can take buy it to take home with you.

How to Order:

Pinot noir tastes different where it is grown in the world so it won’t translate to what we have in France. We order wines by the flavor we want. If you don’t know if you like cherry or citrus flavors etc., the staff here LOVE helping you simply without any snobby wine splaining. They’ll ask you if you want bubbly, white, orange, rosé or red – then ask is you want mineral, floral, fruit, etc. and take it from there. Once you find what you love, then they’ll tell you which grapes and region you are drinking. It is so much easier to get the wine you want to drink in the glass this way even if it feels different at first.

Their Sister Restaurants Across the Street:

Septime La Cave